CSR In The Automotive Sector

When I took on my role as Chief Corporate Citizenship Officer at PMI, I set a handful of parameters for myself and my team: 1. Don’t fall into the trap of arm’s-length checkbook philanthropy: One-off cash infusions can help nonprofits in the immediate term, but they don’t get at the issue of sustainable growth. 2. Focus, focus, focus: Diffusion is the enemy of progress. There are an endless number of worthy causes and charitable organizations, but our greatest impact will come from identifying a small number of causes that are intrinsically tied to our values and vision and making those causes priorities. (In our case, this is U.S. military veterans, women’s equity and empowerment, and hyperlocal activations.) 3. Empower—and learn from—those already in the trenches: We’re not going to dictate what happens at the community level. We’re here to listen and learn and find ways to support and expand the good works already underway. 4. Give a “hand up” instead of a handout: Band-Aid solutions may make us feel good in the short term, but they don’t get to the root problem. The cash infusions we give our community-based partners are meaningful, but their value grows exponentially when paired with our business expertise and insights. 5. Offer employees a chance to contribute to change: We polled PMI’s U.S. workforce earlier this year about our plans to support military veterans. An astonishing 97 percent of employees raised their hands to get involved. There’s a hunger out there for making a positive difference in local communities and the broader world. Find ways to connect your people to the issues that matter most to them. It turns out that this is the way the next generation of philanthropists is thinking about their impact as well. A recent article (I’ll share the link in comments) shares interesting insights into how our younger generations—millennials and Gen Z—are embracing a more comprehensive approach to philanthropy focused on measurable impact and deeper connections. They’re also showing a greater tolerance for the “long game,” willing to take risks in the short term to lay the groundwork for greater gains down the road. As the next generation of philanthropists takes the reins and starts investing more than money in the causes they care about, let’s make sure our organizations are prepared to do the same.

Dear philanthropists, you need to start funding core operations in nonprofits. One of the most problematic things I’ve heard in the philanthropic space is that “no donor will want to fund operations.” Ugh. This gives me the ick. It should not be something we ask nonprofit leaders to work around. It should be a funding criterion that philanthropists actively CHANGE t to serve what activists and nonprofit teams truly need. Operations (from organizational development, HR and finance, to strategy planning, communication and fundraising) ARE the backbone of how social justice is literally PUT IN ACTION. Refusing to fund operations is extremely anti-feminist and perpetuates power imbalances. It reminds me of a system that still refuses to see domestic or caregiving labor as labor that should be paid. Domestic and caregiving (informal and formal) professionals, much like operation professionals (often women!!) remain invisible, often thankless, and terribly undervalued, but they are essential for the wellbeing, sustainability and flourishing of communities and organizations they serve. Would it sound okay if a philanthropist who also supports feminist or social justice causes claimed that domestic or caregiving labor is unworthy of fair monetary remuneration? If you, too, believe that the answer is no, well, it’s time to be louder about funding nonprofit operations! The truth is that without operations, no program nor activism can develop sustainably and scale in the long term. Operational capacity is foundational in social justice efforts and, therefore, a real feminist issue.   People with money privilege who want to do good need to get on board with this and support it, and stop letting the ego get in the way of their funding agendas (apparently, funding operations does not sound “cool” or “prestigious” enough in the philanthropy bubble…). The truth is that when philanthropy fails to invest in nonprofits' impact engines, it undermines the core impact that leaders and activists are trying to achieve. Philanthropists, if you want to truly serve communities and do your part in contributing to systemic change, this is your opportunity to put the money where the real needs of frontline leaders and activists are.

The recent launch of the Dh4.7 billion Global Humanitarian Endowment Project by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is more than an act of generosity, it’s a visionary blueprint for how nations can transform philanthropy into a sustainable engine for impact. As the first initiative of its kind in the region, the project creates a purpose-driven ecosystem that combines residential, healthcare, education, and retail components, with its revenues dedicated to supporting health and education projects around the world. What makes this initiative remarkable is its long-term thinking, creating an ecosystem where investment, innovation, and compassion coexist to deliver measurable, lasting change. It turns giving into a structured model of growth, one that sustains itself, empowers communities, and reflects the UAE’s unique approach to purpose-driven development. This move is a reminder that leadership is not only about driving economic success, but also redefining how prosperity can uplift others. It’s a vision that inspires both governments and businesses to embed purpose into every strategy and to lead with impact that endures.

*The Extraordinary Power of #Philanthropy* As Chair of Impact Europe, I’ve been thinking a lot about how foundations are underutilizing the many tools they have to create #impact. For example: 🚀 We can make non-grant #investments. Depending on the jurisdiction, we can use grant funding for #equity or #debt investments. This is what we at Laudes Foundation did when setting up Fashion for Good and its related funds (a seed fund for #innovators as well as Good Fashion Fund). For us, this has been incredibly catalytic, unlocking over $2 billion in commercial funding for these innovators. 🚀 We can build the #ecosystem for impact investing. Foundations’ secret sauce is in how they #enable change, working through partners to influence the rules of the system (such as the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation or #SFDR), tackle the incentives in the system, or even shape the ideas and assumptions behind it (as we have done with UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP), Earth4All, Council on Economic Policies, Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL), and many more). 🚀 We can tap the relatively untapped tool in our toolbox: #endowments. As Kieron Boyle, in a recent Financial Times report with Impact Europe, says "Trying to achieve impact through grant-making alone is like playing a football match with one star player rather than two whole teams.” I’m proud that Impact Europe and Philea - Philanthropy Europe Association have teamed up to help their members further explore this opportunity. Confluence Philanthropy is also an excellent resource for best practice here. 🚀 And we can help bring other actors – like #corporates – along with us. A few years back, we helped to set up what is now called the Business of Impact, which helps corporates leverage various tools such as #corporatefoundations, corporate #venture funds, #impactinvesting funds. Stanford Social Innovation Review highlighted this here: https://lnkd.in/dWx_NKtj. And a new report by Impact Europe (https://lnkd.in/de649sf6) helps corporates get started. In short, philanthropy won’t save the world. It's miniscule vis-a-vis the trillions needed to accelerate the just transition we need in this time of climate crisis. But it IS powerful enabler – with multiple levers – that help make business, industry and finance be a force for good. Dana Lanza, Delphine Moralis, Roberta Bosurgi, Amol Mehra, Katy Hartley, Clare Hierons, Katrin Ley, Bob Assenberg, Chris West, Saskia Bruysten, Silke Horakova, pascal vinarnic, María Ángeles León López, Dr. Markus Freiburg, Antonio Miguel, Maha Keramane, Marco Gerevini, Douglas Miller, Naina Subberwal Batra, Allie Hollowell, Johanna B., Jelena S., Aleksander Weiler, CFA Adriaan Floor, CFA, CAIA Niels Levitus

I want to applaud Melinda French Gates’ decision to donate $1 billion to help women and girls, including the launch this fall of a $250 million initiative for grass-roots funders “focused on improving the mental and physical health of women and girls globally.” Her generosity is truly extraordinary—and her decision a powerful reminder of something we know well at Wellesley College. As she writes: “Decades of research on economics, well-being and governance make it clear that investing in women and girls benefits everyone. We know that economies with women’s full participation have more room to grow. That women’s political participation is associated with decreased corruption. That peace agreements are more durable when women are involved in writing them. That reducing the time women spend in poor health could add as much as $1 trillion to the global economy by 2040.” Gates is to be roundly commended for her longstanding commitment to these causes as well as for promoting the idea that helping women and girls leads to progress for everyone. This most recent announcement builds on a record of global philanthropic leadership that has made her one of the most powerful forces for good. Now my hope is that her leadership and vision inspires others and creates greater investment in education for women and girls around the world. Education amplifies impact.

I have a client board retreat coming up next week. Among other strategic planning topics, we're exploring how the foundation can use Program-Related Investments (PRIs) to partner with Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to support their mission around youth mental wellness. A few examples: * Place mission deposits — Large-dollar CDs or money market accounts at a CDFI bank or credit union. These increase lending capacity without requiring the foundation to underwrite individual loans. * Use linked deposits: Offer the deposit at below-market interest to lower the CDFI’s cost of capital, allowing them to make lower-rate loans to their nonprofit partners. * Credit enhancements: Provide a first-loss reserve or guarantee so the CDFI can lend to higher-risk but high-impact businesses. * Revenue-based financing or working capital fund: Particularly relevant for industries with volatile cash flow but strong long-term demand (e.g., mental health providers waiting for reimbursement from insurance!). * Affordable/Attainable Workforce Housing: Investing in housing trust that lends funds across the development process to support housing targeting frontline mental health workers. * Support a dedicated Income Share Agreement (ISA) loan pool: borrower-friendly financing for students pursuing degrees in mental health fields, ensuring repayments are proportional to post-graduation income while they ramp up from modest starting salaries and achieve full licensing. Many of these PRI opportunities can and should be combined with some amount of grant capital to support operations and provide for loan loss reserves while keeping interest rates low for the end users (borrowers). If you want to explore adding these kinds of tools to your philanthropic toolbox, reach out! Let's not leave impact on the table. #philanthropy #impinv #CDFI #privatefoundation #PRIs #mentalhealth

Most people know Rihanna for her music, fashion, and cultural influence. Fewer people recognize that she is also helping to blaze a trail in philanthropy — particularly in and for the Caribbean. Philanthropy, at its core, is about investing in people and systems that strengthen communities over time. It supports organizations (like Helen's Daughters) working on development, resilience, and equity — often in spaces where long-term, flexible investment is most needed. In regions like the Caribbean — where climate vulnerability is high and resources are limited — philanthropy is not a “nice to have.” It is critical. During a recent grantee convening with the Clara Lionel Foundation, I was reminded of what intentional, Caribbean-rooted philanthropy can look like in practice. Founded by Rihanna, CLF began with something deeply personal: her grandmother and access to dignified healthcare. What makes the model compelling is that it did not remain confined to that experience. Over time, CLF evolved — expanding its focus to climate justice, disaster response, health, education, arts, and community resilience. That evolution matters. The Caribbean has produced global icons across industries, yet philanthropic engagement connected to the region is often narrow or siloed. CLF offers a different approach — one that allows personal motivation to grow into regional responsibility, and giving to respond to the interconnected realities Caribbean communities face. This is the kind of philanthropy that deserves to be studied. Not just for who is giving — but for how and why. The Caribbean may be small in size, but its influence, needs, and leadership potential are not. Philanthropy that understands this can help strengthen systems, support communities, and shape futures and while Rihanna is making waves on the charts, the runways and boardrooms, she’s also quietly and powerfully changing lives across the Caribbean. My hope is that others can follow suit- what starts off as personal conviction can turn into regional responsibility. #claralionelfoundation #innovateinspireimpact #2025partnerconvening #clf2025

Global philanthropy is expanding faster than ever - but only a small fraction is building systems that last 🌍 Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (Stanford PACS) estimates philanthropic capital will reach US$1.5T by 2030. Yet OECD - OCDE data shows <10% goes toward early-stage systems change - the type that actually shifts outcomes. UNICEF calls early childhood the highest-ROI investment on earth (13–18× lifetime returns). Jacobs Foundation: education ecosystems outperform standalone programmes. Still, most dollars fund: • short-term projects • isolated pilots • output-based activity …instead of long-term capability. Across my work advising endowments, early childhood authorities and education ecosystems, one pattern holds: Place matters. Communities scale through trust networks, coalitions and institutional strength - not just capital. UNDP’s 2024 Human Development Report shows local trust predicts outcomes more than GDP. Talent is the scarce resource. Gates Foundation research highlights the “people infrastructure” gap - the operators, connectors and system stewards. WINGS’ Global Philanthropy Report: ecosystem builders generate 3× impact over isolated grantees. Systems > projects. The Bridgespan Group finds funders with a 10-year systems lens achieve 5–7× more durable outcomes. Novo Nordisk Foundation (now $140B+) succeeds because it invests in institutional capability, not one-off grants. A powerful regional example: The Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity’s support of the The END Fund - a multi-country effort to eliminate neglected tropical diseases. Having collaborated in my role at Radicle with the END Fund, their approach is a model of systems change: • government partnerships • multi-year coalitions • community-led delivery • robust data infrastructure • health-system strengthening A reminder that philanthropy accelerates when capital and coalitions move together. Which brings us to the real question: If funding is increasing, why aren’t outcomes scaling at the same pace? Because systems change is slow - until it’s not. It requires: • long-term endowments • aligned institutions • human capital pipelines • feedback loops • shared purpose • patient governance Exactly the type of innovation we’re beginning to see across the UAE’s early childhood, learning and health ecosystems - and from a new generation of globally minded family offices. For leaders shaping philanthropic strategy, the shift is clear: move from funding activities… to funding architecture. If you’re exploring long-horizon, coalition-driven approaches - or redesigning your philanthropic portfolio for systems impact - happy to connect and synergize.

As the saying goes - "First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist... Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me." Yet, I keep hearing about folks in philanthropy who are still taking a "wait and see" approach. Philanthropists are safeguarding endowments instead of recognizing that this is the moment those reserves were built for. Foundations are operating in silos—funding climate change, racial equity, or democracy separately—rather than recognizing that these fights are interconnected and require collective action. This is not the time for caution. This is the time for bold leadership. If philanthropy fails to act decisively now, it risks becoming irrelevant—or worse, complicit. What Can You Do Now? 1️⃣ Break the Rules for Impact – Traditional funding models won’t meet this moment. Loosen restrictions on grants, increase giving beyond the minimum payout, and remove bureaucratic barriers that slow down urgent funding. Funders often pride themselves on being strategic and measured, but in times of crisis, speed and flexibility matter more than process. Consider general operating support, multi-year commitments, and emergency grants that allow organizations to pivot quickly. More than ever, advocacy is part of philanthropy’s role—use your influence to push for policies that protect democracy and marginalized communities. 2️⃣ Fund Collaboration, Not Just Causes – Movements win when they work together. Siloed funding fragments efforts and weakens impact. Instead of picking one issue to support, fund cross-issue partnerships that bring together climate justice, racial equity, labor rights, and democracy protection. The challenges we face are intersectional—our funding strategies must be, too. Imagine what’s possible if philanthropy fostered coalitions that build power across sectors, strengthening movements instead of isolating them. Actively seek out and fund partnerships focused on driving systemic change and creating a shared future for us all. This is a defining moment. The question is: Will philanthropy meet it?